Modern-day prophets commonly speak of a great end-times revival prophecy. To my surprise, the Bible foretells the timing of this revival, and gives us the key to unlocking it.

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The Great End-Times Revival Prophecy

Modern-day prophets have spoken about a coming end-times revival like the earth has never seen. Here are some examples:

• Smith Wigglesworth 1936 – “You will have the privilege to see and to participate in the most glorious and mightiest sweeping revival that has ever been known in Christian history!“
  • Les Summerall also recounts Smith’s vision of “untold numbers” coming to Christ and miracles like the Book of Acts on a worldwide scale.
• Tommy Hicks 1961 – Describes an “Awakening Giant” the body of Christ receives spiritual power and authority on such a scale as has not been seen since the book of Acts.
• Bob Jones – 1975 – “I will bring over a billion souls to Myself in the last days.“
• Paul Cain – “I am raising up Joel’s army,” there will be breakthroughs of power beyond the Book of Acts. Joel 2:12-15, 28-31
• Kim Clement – 2015 – And I said, “Lord, what do You mean ‘revival’? He said, “…I’m about to pour upon them unimaginable favor… I will heal bodies like I’ve never healed before. I will raise even the dead – as they’ve said it cannot happen, I will do signs and wonders… as this earth has never seen… under the leadership of a righteous President.”

As a Christian, these prophecies are exciting. But most end-times prophecies in the Bible speak of widespread upheaval, rebellion against God’s law, and apostasy in the church. For example, Paul speaks of “the apostasy” or “falling away from faith” before the antichrist is revealed.

If a great end-times revival is coming, where is it in the Bible?

The Contrast to the Church of the End-Times

The letters from Jesus to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 help us understand the church’s state in the end-times. In these letters, Jesus references the end-times in the last four of seven letters.

But what we see in these letters is a divided church. Three of those churches are divided between those who do good in His eyes and those who have fallen away.

For those in the church who have fallen away Jesus says this:

• “I will throw… those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation” –Rev. 2:22
• “I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.” –Rev. 3:3.
• “I will spit you out of My mouth.” –Rev. 3:15-17

Jesus also describes this division at the time of the end in the parable of the ten virgins. The virgins in the parable represent Christians, but when Jesus returns only half of those Christians are ready and Je leaves the other half behind.

Jesus illustrates this division again in Matthew 24:40-41. “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.“

Where is there room for revival in these prophecies?

The Mystery of Persecution

There is something about human nature that makes us passionate and humble in times of adversity. But in times of comfort, we tend to abandon that passion. Could this be the key behind an end-times revival?

The Persecuted Church

In Jesus’ messages to the seven churches, there are only two that He does not rebuke, Smyrna, and Philadelphia. Why do they escape rebuke?

The most obvious similarity that these churches share is that both have suffered persecution. Both churches suffer from a poverty of some type (money and/or power), and congregations of non-believers have persecuted both.

The second similarity is that perseverance. Both churches remain faithful to Jesus throughout the persecution. For these things, these churches have received promises of life and glory in heaven.

In contrast to these two churches is the church of Laodicea. This church’s members have their material needs covered. They are “rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.” As a result of their comfort, Jesus describes them as “lukewarm,” and like lukewarm water, He says He will spit them from His mouth.

See, this is the mystery of persecution. Persecution drives the fire in each of us to passionately reach out to God. It is the fire that drives revival.

In China’s persecuted church, I’ve heard stories of people packed into rooms or caves for days to hear the Word. Similarly, the persecution of the Iranian government has produced the fastest growing church in the world. Amazingly, there are many testimonies of Jesus visiting Muslims in Iran.

I recall a story of a Muslim isolated in the Iranian desert being visited by a “man” for three nights during which the “man” recited the book of John verbatim. This miraculous visitation resulted in a Farsi translation of the gospel to be distributed through the underground church.

We in the U.S. are probably the most comfortable Christians in the world.

Is persecution the key to the great end-times revival?

The Precursors to Revival Revealed in Bible Prophecy

There are several books in the Bible where I see evidence of a coming revival – Daniel, Joel, Matthew (also Mark and Luke), and Revelation. In these books and others, there is a progression that occurs in the end-times before revival occurs.

1) A Battle in Heaven – Satan Thrown to Earth

The time of troubles on the earth begin when God orders Satan to be cut-off from heaven.

• Revelation 12:7-9 – And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon... And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan
• Daniel 12:1- Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise.

2) Distress

With Satan thrown to earth, he begins to war against the people of God. I believe this is also when the seals are first opened.

• Revelation 12:12 – Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.
• Daniel 12:1 – And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time;
• Joel 2:1-11 – Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble… And who can endure it?
• Matthew 24:4-8 – For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

3) Persecution

Enraged, Satan will persecute God’s people with increasing intensity, including death.

• Matthew 24:9 – Then they will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
• Revelation 6:9 – I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God
• Revelation 12:13-17 – …he [satan] persecuted the woman [Israel] who gave birth to the male child… So the dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her children [believers in Christ], who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
• Joel 2:2-3 – So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it,… A fire consumes before them
  And behind them a flame burns.

4) Repentance and Perseverance

Under intense persecution, God’s people repent of their ways and persevere.

• Joel 2:12-16 – “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God,... Blow a trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the people, sanctify the congregation…
• Daniel 2:10 – Many will be purged, purified, and refined,… those who have insight will understand.
• Revelation 12:11 – And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
• Matthew 24:13 – But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
• Revelation 6:9 – because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained.

Revival – The Prophecy in the Bible

Persecution is the fire that drives repentance, but perseverance during persecution is the key to revival. We see in prophecies such as Joel’s, that God releases revival after these steps have been satisfied.

• Joel 2:28-29 – It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.“
• Daniel 12:3 – Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
• Revelation 7:9 (after the rapture) – …behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,…
• Matthew 24:14 – This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The last revival will be intense. The persecution will not relent. But in this time of extreme darkness and harm, God’s miracles will be just as extreme.

Even today, we hear of amazing miracles and mass salvation from missionaries in places of great darkness such as Africa, South America, and Mexico. The Holy Spirit works powerfully in places of great need, persecution, and darkness.

One day, the great need, persecution, and darkness will not just be in third world countries, but in today’s leading nations including the United States.

This is when we will see a great revival on a world-wide scale. This is when we will see the incredible miracles and salvations that the modern-day prophets have foretold.

If Revival is Near, Persecution is Coming

Many modern-day prophets have told us that revival is coming soon and that Jesus is coming sooner than we think.

If this is true, than persecution is coming even sooner. I implore each of you prepare.

I don’t mean prepare physically, but spiritually. Many of us are comfortable. Our hearts are not prepared to handle the persecution that many Christians are experiencing in other countries.

We must prepare and purify ourselves through fasting and prayer. It is time for us to spend less time in the world and more time in the spirit. Know your authority as a child of God and use it to intercede for our people, our leaders, our country, and our world.

If necessary, we must be willing to lay down our lives to remain true to Christ. This is hard to accept. But if you do not accept this now, you may not have the courage to stand if the time comes.

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Post Script: What Comes After the Great Revival?

A great revival will occur before the Great Tribulation and would peak at the arrival of the Day of the Lord and the subsequent rapture of the church. (see post, Confirming the End-Times Prophecy Roadmap for more like this.)

The Day of the Lord

• Joel 2:30 – “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire and columns of smoke. “The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”
• Revelation 6:12-17 – …He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth,… hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come,…
• Matthew 24:29 – …immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 – the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly

The Sealing of the 144,000, Rapture & Resurrection

Following the Day of the Lord, the angels will seal the 144,000 Jewish believers and rapture the true believers in the church.

The Sealing of the 144,000

• Revelation 7:3-8 – “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads…”
• Revelation 14:1 – …the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.
• Joel 2:30 – “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape,…
• Matthew 24:31 – …and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Rapture & Resurrection

• Daniel 12:1-2 – …everyone who is found written in the book will be rescued. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life…
• Revelation 7:9-17 – …behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hand… “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation,…”
• Revelation 14-15 – …another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 – For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
• Luke 21:27-28 – Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”